Indoor Smoke Hood

JayB,
Cookshack sells hoods for their units as well. I am not aware of the hood that you spoke of, but I would encourage you to talk to the folks in Ponca City! The Retail Foodservice site on the Cookshack homepage has the link under accessories. They don't mention a hood for the Model 50, but I'll bet they'll work with you.

Hey,

Just came in from starting a test smoke run of a smoke hood for my 150 in the concession trailer that I put together using mostly stuff already had, and checked the forum and here's your post!

Back, test complete now. Works Pretty GOOD! That trailer is completely sealed when closed up and the residue smoke smell was too much even after airing out, then the flies come too. So I'd ozone it for awhile to clean up the smell, but that takes another day to air out, no flies come though. Leaving it open during smoking wasn't an option, I want to be able to smoke on the road, either locked up at an event or via the generator in the back of the truck.

The previous owner told me not to put a smoke vent on it, against CS policy. Okay, I kept that in mind in my design, no sucking the smoke out or restricting it.

Want to know how I did it? Send $$ to ..... grin

I had a tube of the thick flexible aluminum dryer vent pipe laying around, an old computer, and a car battery, bought a 90 degree elbow connection for dryers, screened exterior vent, bell wire and a switch. That's it. Need to add the trickle charger I have to the battery. Took the fan out of computer, attached it to wall, fitted elbow to fan, put tube on to elbow and stretched it here and there to be above vent hole, used 1.5 inch chunk of mesquite to rest tube on temporally, looking for that piece that sits above a gas water heater as a permanent spacer. I need to add a smoke oil catch under exterior vent.

Q,
Lamar

Would like to see a photo of that set-up.

CS has "warned" several times about people connecting pipes or vents directly to the smoker. I think that's the policy that was mentioned.

Is your pipe connected to the smoker or is there a gap between the smoker and the pipe?

CS sells vents, the key is in the airflow and capacity of the vent.

Smokin'

I have a pipe connected to my Smokette with an elbow to the outside of the garage. It's fairly short and works great. You won't see it in any of my pics, as we had poor photo lighting where I usually keep it. I run a shotgun cleaning rod thru it after every smoke session.

Well if cookshack doesn't make the hood I wonder who does. I sent smokin tex an e-mail but haven't heard back from them yet. Maybe I'll give them a call. I'm not sure I want to mess around with something that may fail and wreak smoky havoc around my house some night. I'd rather pay to make sure someone else tests it first. Well I'll post again when I hear from SmokinTex.

JayB

Jay,

A couple of recommendations. First a little warning for all. Do not connect a pipe directly to your smoker. The units are not sealed, so if the smoke will find a way out and normally not through our pipe. Having a pipe hooked up directly to the unit will change the way it cooks and will cause thermostat failure.

Now, a couple of ways to vent a model 50. I would suggest getting a vent hood for over a stove that uses an outside vent. They will move plenty of air to remove the smoke. Word of caution, if you are smoking something for a short time, open the door slowly or the smoke may be more than the hood can handle.

Another idea, would be to vent it throught a 2" pipe. The pipe should be suspended over the top of the vent hole, it can be set up like the flu on a gas hot water tank. Then the pipe can be ran outside. Two things to note when venting a smoker in this manner. The pipe must be setup like a flu, where it draws air. Secondly, expect some smoke to get in your room whenever you open the door on the smoker.

Hope that helps.

Jay,

Something I forgot in my last post, the smoker will work fine outdoors in the winter. Cold temps have very little effect on the unit.

Cold weather is not a problem for the Cookshack. I have used mine in -10 F temps and everything went fine.

JayB probably doesn't want to walk outside at -10� to rehookup his polder,so he can figure out if he is through that 3 hour plateau on his pork butts.

I have fixed an old range hood above my Smokette in the garage and it works great. It is vented to the outside. It is about a foot above the smoker. Also, it is about 8" out from the wall so that the front of the hood is out over the front of the smoker. I hooked a piece of sheet metal on the back of the hood sloping down to the wall to catch any smoke that may come that way and direct it into the hood. I have sometimes noticed small amounts of smoke (just during the early stages of smoking) coming out the drain hole and up the sides and back of the smoker.

This way, the CS is always ready to go and I can come home from work, throw something in and go to bed and forget it without worrying about the quick changes in Kansas weather.

While this works fine for me and there is no lingering smell in the garage, it is probably not suitable for inside the house.

mpdog,

Any chance of you posting a picture of that rig? Same question to anyone else that has vented their oven.

Stuart, any pics available showing the Cookshack hoods in service? And can any of the standard hoods be modified for the Smokette? Y'all make such a quality product, I would surely trust anything you design over what I could jury-rig! I also don't happen to have any old kitchen hoods lying around.

Instructionally dyslexic and a visual sort of guy,

Cog

How about 30-40 below zero? How about a 23 foot snowfall? The vent is a nipple w/a ring nut, which I easily accomodated a 1/2" water line with a coupler and a pipe thru the wall. I'd say the distance is about 1 1/2 feet, IF that. All I am doing is re-directing the smoke to the outside. How am I messing with smoking capabilities? The pipe is the same diameter as the vent. So...it takes longer to travel OUT, and thus is cooled. But, I don't see how that could affect the Smokettes performance in any way.

I do have to admit that I am a complete novice with the Smokette, but not to electric smokehouse units. Please explain further, Stuart? What am I missing....besides very cold, miserable weather?

PS: I have my outside vent in such a place where there will be no backdraft or blow-by...especially during one of our 100 Knot windstorms you folks call a hurricane...and we call just another day.

Andi,

Sure am glad it's you living up their in the great north. I can barely stand Oklahoma winters. Really messes with my golf game...

I have customer in Minn. that cook outdoors year round without any problems. I don't think your weather conditions would be a problem for the smoker. Might take an extra 30 minutes for the smoker to reach temp, however I sure wouldn't want to go out there and check the thing.

The way you have your smoker vented will probably shorten the life of the thermostat. It really won't effect the cooking/smoking. What happens is this. We don't force any air through the smoker, so when you attach a pipe directly to the smoker you are creating back pressure. Thus the smoke will not flow out of the oven in it's natural way.

Because we do not seal the sides of the oven the smoke will find the easiest way out. This will be through the seams in the oven. Thus the smoke will get into the back of the unit and cause premature failure of the Thermostat.

Hope that makes sense. I would recommend changing your venting method, or be ready to change the thermostat one of these days...

Gotcha, Stuart, 5X4. Four meaning I still do not get how a short pipe re-directing the smoke can alter the temp. I don't smoke for hours and hours with the brisket things like you all do. I use my smoker for Fish and Enhancement. Only once did smoke leak from the door, and that was when I did a beer-can chicken. I turned her down. I believe I am waking the Cookshack folks to other possibilities than brisket and butt. She is one fine unit and I plan to win awards and make bucks with her. And...I plan to win another!

Stuart,I can't believe you can complain about Oklahoma winters throwing off you golf game.

Just think when you go out in Jan. and hit a 1 iron with the wind.

That wind messes with me all the time, but since I'm orginally from Kansas I'm pretty used to it... However if you ask Smokin, he'll tell you that nothing could make my golf game worse.

Andi, I think I am confusing you. The pipe you have hooked up, won't change the cooking of the unit. It will however shorten the life of the thermostat. Also, if all conditions happened to be right, it could force air back into the smoker and cause a fire risk. These are the reasons that we recommend not hooking a pipe directly to the unit... Hope that makes sense.

Makes sence, but don't forget, I placed it where there can be no backdraft. Could you explain how this set-up shortens the life of my thermostat?

Andi,

What happens is that by attaching a pipe to the top of the unit you resticting the smoke and heat from rising out of the unit. This means that you will force heat and smoke to exit the unit in other places than it is designed to. Depending on how much restiction is occuring, you may have heat, humidity and smoke going through seams in the metal and then rising up the back of the unit and into the thermostat.

Hope that makes sense.

So does the smoke go up the back and gum up the mechanical contacts in the thermostat? That WOULD be a mess...

Thanks for all the replys. Stuart, I was wondering if you found out whether the smokin tex hood that they were offering was ok to use with the cookshacks. They offer it for the smokintex Sr. and Jr.. It looks like the hoods you all advertise for your larger smokers on the cookshack site. If you find out I'd be interested to know if you all or someone else makes it. Thanks,

JayB

Jay,

I can't find hood on their site. So, I am not sure what they are offering, however we do not manufacture it.

Hi Stuart,
Click on the Online Store and look under smoker accessories. It shows a shadowy picture of a hood on what looks to be a cookshack like smoker. See what you think.

I'll try and give them a call to see what its like.

Jay

I use mine in the garage and us a regular kitchen range hood with a curtain of clear visqueen draped down around the top f the smoker. Does OK.

Dmerrill: That's a great idea! Why do you even need the plastic? I keep mine in the garage, too, and had her all plumbed to the outside, until the Boys said no good.

The plastic curtain just helps catch a little more smoke if it is puffin a little too much

dmerrell: I dig ya! That's kinda what I thought...and I hope you don't mind this copycat, I think I found a range hood for free!